Hong Kong Government launches Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme

The Hong Kong Government has announced that it will be launching the Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme (“Subsidy Scheme”) on 3rd October 2020 to help ease financial burdens on the local convention and exhibition industry and help it attract domestic and overseas exhibitors, buyers and conference delegates to Hong Kong.

The Subsidy Scheme offers to cover a 100% venue rental cost for organisers of exhibitions and international conventions held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and AsiaWorld-Expo.

The announcement has been welcomed by Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited (HML) - the private management company responsible for daily operation of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

HML Managing Director Monica Lee-Müller advised that the Government’s launch of the Subsidy Scheme in early October will strengthening Hong Kong’s competitiveness as the region’s leading convention and exhibition hub.

Lee-Müller noted “with the on-going pandemic situation overseas, countries are continuously updating their inbound and outbound travel restrictions and compulsory quarantine requirements.  As such, many international exhibitions and conventions originally scheduled for the second half of 2020 have been postponed or cancelled. 

“Mega exhibitions typically have long planning lead-times, and re-launching them before the October 2021 deadline for the Subsidy Scheme may prove challenging.  However, we believe that once the pandemic is under control, exhibition and convention organisers will waste no time bringing exhibitions back onto their event calendars. 

“To ensure that mega exhibitions and international conventions return to Hong Kong after the pandemic, the industry will continue to communicate closely with the Government so that timely actions can be taken to maximise the impact of the Subsidy Scheme.’

The HK$1,020 million (US$131 million) Subsidy Scheme to reinvigorate the convention and exhibition industry has been set up under the Government’s Anti-epidemic Fund. Originally slated to be launched in July 2020, it was postponed following the third wave of the pandemic in the city, which caused the postponement of conventions and exhibitions that were originally scheduled to take place from mid-July to September. The Subsidy Scheme offers to cover a 100% venue rental cost for organisers of exhibitions and international conventions held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and AsiaWorld-Expo.

Image: Hong Kong Convention Centre